Gilbert and Thyra Plass Charitable Trust

About the Foundation The Gilbert and Thyra Plass Charitable Trust was created under the Last Will and Testament of Thyra Nichols Plass. Dr. Plass was born on April 8, 1914. She grew up on a farm in Illinois where she took piano lessons and first discovered her love for music. She became an organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Delavan, Illinois at age 15 after only one organ lesson. The next year she won a scholarship competition at Illinois Wesleyan playing the organ. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in organ performance and sacred music from Union Theological Seminary in New York. Her husband, Dr. Gilbert Plass, earned a BS from Harvard and a doctorate in physics from Princeton. Dr. Plass was head of the Department of Physics at Texas A&M University from 1968-1977. He was the author of 6 books and more than 100 articles, including a series of papers on global warming. He was as knowledgeable and passionate about music and the arts as he was about physics. The couple remained in Bryan, Texas for the rest of their lives. Dr. Thyra Plass passed away on October 27, 2003, and Dr. Gilbert Plass passed away on March 1, 2004. Mission To support a variety of charitable causes benefiting citizens in Brazos County, Texas. Program areas Arts, culture, and humanities Education Environment, animals Health Human services Religion